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Tyson Foods is being sued by campaigners who claim the US meat major is making “unsubstantiated environmental claims” about its products – known colloquially as greenwashing.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) filed the suit under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act, or CPPA, in D.C. Superior Court.

The US arm of Brazilian meat giant JBS was similarly sued earlier this year.

Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farm brands owner Tyson has been accused of “capitalising on consumers’ interest in purchasing climate-friendly foods by falsely claiming it will be net-zero by 2050 and marketing its industrial beef products as ‘climate-smart’”.

The EWG, made up of the NGOs the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Earthjustice, Edelson PC and FarmSTAND, said the lawsuit seeks to stop Tyson from “continuing to make these unsubstantiated environmental claims”.

The campaigners are calling on Tyson to retract its “misleading statements” and to be held accountable for “violating the CPPA”.

In a statement, the EWG said: “Industrialised meat production generates tremendous volumes of climate-warming emissions at every stage of the process, from deforestation and overgrazing to feed production, and from cattle and manure emissions to slaughter and distribution.

“Industrial beef has a larger climate footprint than any other major food product. Tyson, which produces about 20% of US. beef, chicken and pork, has GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions that exceed those of Austria or Greece. Its beef production is responsible for 85% of the company’s emissions.

It added: “As the lawsuit alleges, Tyson’s 2022 annual revenues exceed $53bn and yet its spending on GHG reduction practices is less than $50m, which amounts to less than 0.1% of its revenue. Tyson spends about eight times as much on advertising as it does on research. Tyson is aware that consumers have an interest in – and are willing to pay more for – climate-friendlier foods and the company is trying to capitalise on this by taking credit for progress it has not made and has no serious plans to achieve.”

Asked by Just Food for a response to the lawsuit and its claims, a Tyson Foods spokesperson said: “While we do not comment on specific litigation, Tyson Foods has a long history of sustainable practices that embrace good stewardship of our environmental resources. We will continue to support agricultural practices that further these efforts and work to strengthen the overall resiliency of the US agriculture system.”

Tyson Foods is the second major meat company to be sued in the US this year for so-called greenwashing.

In February, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged the US arm of Brazilian meat giant JBS’s pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2040 wasn’t backed by a feasible plan